Why I Would Make A Bad Scientist

A closing remark this evening...The Pi has slept for six straight hours and counting. This is good news. The problem is - I don't know if its the Little Gym workout this morning, the fantastic new diapers with "caterpillar flex" or the Cushi Puppy massaging pillow that encouraged this rest. A good scientist would only change one variable at a time.

My conclusion is though that I am a good mom for having done all three things (done? well, implimented) and I can sleep on that.

Irons in the Fire (which is where I believe they belong)

For those of you who knew me PP (pre-Pregnancy) you know that I am never only doing one thing...I LOVE projects. 2006 was consumed with the project of being pregnant and the project of beginning a life with the Princess. Now that 2007 is underway and I discover that my quasi-employer has become my entirely-former employer I have embarked on some new projects and tangents...I also have a list of unprojects...things I will NOT be doing again soon.

The Going Forward With List:

• Macabrekins - developing and marketing an off-kilter collection of plush toys and writing stories of their adventures
• Magazine articles - took a course at UCLA, made a list of mags I want to write for and a list of topics - traveling with small kids, traveling with LARGE pets, cooking in a small kitchen, becoming a parent at "an advanced maternal age," unique roadtrips and realistic wardrobe planning
• Writing clients - ONLY THE KIND THAT CAN PAY and that have something interesting to promote like E-Spec
• Exercise - daily walks plus getting back into yoga and maybe doing some pilates!!
• Foodie Pursuits - Solstice Supper Club (more on that soon), Wine Geek Club - perhaps should be Grape Geek for sake of illeration and some classes at Sur La Table (if only for the in-store discount you get on the day of the course)
• Mastering the Martini - searching for the perfect one
  

And the Anti-Projects:

• No more book clubs for a while - I literally have 45 books waiting to be read (including the five I checked out from the TO Library today) - but if I did have a book club - it would be for new moms only and the first book we would read would be this one! Actually any of these!
  
• Writing Clients - that don't or can't pay...no pro bono unless its Bono and then we can talk because Pro Bono is different on so many levels that pro bono
• Stressing out - its overrated and I am over it!
  

Oh, and ironing...I don't do it, won't do it, hate it...irons = ick.

Pi Day!

You better believe this will be a "holiday" in this household for sure!!! Who knew? If you are in LA that day, come to the party! There are so many things to do and learn in relation to the big day!

Moo's Vacation

While we humans went up to Mammoth for the weekend, Moo went to stay with her very favorite Fetch Petcare sitter aka Marzipan and family...and the pugslies! For once , Mama was not the only one with a "mini-me." Life is good for the mutts!

All about books - another TAG!

Another great "meme" (W.T.Heck does that word mean?) from Uncle Alabaster's blog via Lulu I believe!

Hardback or trade paperback or mass-market paperback? Hardback at home, paperbacks on vacation.
Amazon or brick and mortar? Amazon is very convenient, I must say. I have no problem ordering $200 of books from Amazon, I am not similarly inclined in person in a real bookstore. That being said, I do like the idea of quaint, non-chain bookstores, the reality is though, they don’t have what I am looking for. Sadly.
Barnes & Noble or Borders? BARNES & NOBLE! There is something not quite right about Borders, lurking under the surface I feel like they are secretly a “Christian” book store. I have no basis for this, just a hair on the back of my neck feeling I get when I walk in the store.
Bookmark or dog-ear? Bookmark! Have you met my father?!
Alphabetize by author or alphabetize by title or random? Are you serious? Categorize – maybe…which is to say, no non-cookbooks in the kitchen and that is about the only rule.
Keep, throw away, or sell? Yes.
Keep dustjacket or toss it? Keep it! Why would you throw it out? (Lulu answered it well, why change it?)


Read with dustjacket or remove it? Leave it on…part of the tactile experience of reading the book is holding the book in such a way that you don’t bend or dent the dust cover…some people play video games, I read really long books and “win” if no pages are damaged during the reading…extra points for not cracking the binding.
Short story or novel? I find short stories very unappealing, they are over before they really get going. My definition of a short story is any book thinner than an inch.
Collection (short stories by same author) or anthology (short stories by different authors)? Ugh, I guess anthology. 


Harry Potter or Lemony Snicket? His Dark Materials! But HP and LS are good too.
Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? ASLEEP…not tired, actually asleep.
"It was a dark and stormy night" or "Once upon a time"? It was a dark and stormy night, the windshield wipers on the patrol car squeaked rhythmically as Dectective Roberts reached for his coffee. No one told him before he joined the academy that stake-outs would be this tedious or that the coffee would taste like it had been strained through socks…
Buy or Borrow? Buy or…there is always the library…
New or used? New or used…Costco for hardbacks.
Buying choice: book reviews, recommendation or browse? Browse…maybe recommendation but not that many people I know share my taste in books.
Tidy ending or cliffhanger? Depends on my mood. I love detective fiction because everything is resolved and the bad guy gets caught, but I recognize that life is rarely like that, so I can appreciate messy endings as well.

(Keeping Lulu’s answer, it is perfect – as usual)
Morning reading, afternoon reading or nighttime reading? Yes. A new “time” has materialized for me – breastfeeding time – more reading done then than anyother time.
Stand alone or series? Both – I do like certain detective series otherwise I don’t mind stand alones.
Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? Any of the Penny Vincenzi books, she is the European Danielle Steele.
Favorite book(s) read last year: Beach Road by James Patterson.
Favorite books of all time? Geez…like favorite movies of all time. I am not much for re-reading anything so this is tough…I guess the His Dark Material series and Patricia Cornwall and Tom Clancy and whats his name who wrote all those really FAT books (not Phat, FAT, thick, long) like Hawaii and The Source.
Tag? Cynical Chef and someone who knows me but that I don’t know reads much (that is to say, surprise me!)

I got it!

On Sunday, P2 was holding her own [bottle]! :)

More Mammoth Adventures...

What a fun weekend! Snuggling, hiking, snowboarding (well, aspiring to it), taking breathing treatments (and making it look fun), sitting at the big people table for breakfast...its good being P2!

Mammoth!

Our first big family vacation! We all piled into Ferry Godmother's Honda CRV and headed to Mammoth Mountain. It was unseasonably warm so we avoided snow sports and stuck to walking around town and shopping. Baby's first trip to the snow didn't actually involve her getting in any snow but next winter will be a whole different story!

P2 and Mama had a good bonding experience using the Baby Bjorn. We hiked all around town, P2 showed off her groovy new snow boots that Auntie S-Bar gave her.

The drive up was lovely and uneventful, we stopped off at the World's Best Jerky Shop where Papa Steve bought dried papaya or something like it. We passed The Hubcap Capital of the World without stopping...but its good to know about should you ever be in the market (I suppose).

We stayed in the Chateau Montagne...very impressive name, perfectly adequate accomodations. We had some great meals including Ferry Godmother's famous lasagna and two great meals at The Stove.

We had a gondola ride and did some shopping - I will post those pictures later on tonight, they are in Our Hero's camera.